


Empty Halls

by Shadowy_Dumbo_Octopus



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Changing POV, Codependency, Depression, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, If you can't, M/M, Missing Scene, Ok think of an angora rabbit, Post-Canon, Recovery, Some liberties taken, Suicidal Thoughts, This fic is fluffier, look one up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-15
Updated: 2018-10-15
Packaged: 2019-08-02 18:33:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16310507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowy_Dumbo_Octopus/pseuds/Shadowy_Dumbo_Octopus
Summary: If my body is a temple, its halls are cold and empty without you.Come back, my love, and chase the silence out of our bones.~~~Another take on how Eddie and Venom found each other after the fight with Riot and Drake because I love making people, characters, and myself suffer.





	Empty Halls

_If my body is a temple, its halls are cold and empty without you._

_Come back, my love, and chase the silence out of our bones._

~~~

Eddie didn't know that silence could seep. It's not something material, yet he could practically feel it seep into his bones, tear into his body and claim the place Venom used to occupy.

His mind was too silent, ears ringing even when he was playing music too loudly to chase away the loneliness that gnawed at him like a parasite (an actual one) ever since he crawled out of the water after their fight with Drake and Riot, cold and empty and unable to stop calling out Venom’s name.

That's how Anne had found him; soaking wet, kneeling in the water and frantically searching for something - someone - he had wanted gone not even twelve hours prior.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed since that night - he didn't care enough to look at the calendar - but he kept returning to the shore day after day after day, hoping despite hope for a sign, any indication that his other half was still alive.

Eddie chuckled at that as he lied in bed, sleepless, staring blankly at the ceiling. The term _“other half”_ was usually used to indicate a spouse or someone like that. He used to want Anne to be his other half, but they were two separate beings; Venom, on the other hand, was a literal part of him. Of them. _We are Venom_ and all that. He never thought that he, Eddie “human disaster supreme” Brock could become a part of something so wonderful and yet impossible for him to fuck up.

And yet, there he was. Alone. _He_ instead of _they_. Back from yet another uneventful night full of frantic searching for someone who might as well be long gone. That explosion _was_ nasty, after all.

**“Goodbye, Eddie.”**

Those words haunted his dreams, had him shooting awake with a scream, arms outstretched to reach something that was no longer there. That would probably never be there aga-

_NO!_

Venom _had_ to be okay! They were probably frolicking in the woods inside a wolf or a bear, happily eating everything in sight and preparing a hell of a lecture for him for not finding them sooner. Probably. Hopefully.

How did he go from wanting the symbiote gone to being willing to carve his heart out just to see them again?

Even his post-breakup rock bottom wasn't _this_ rocky and miserable, Eddie mused as he stared at the ceiling of his bedroom. His brain was too quiet and too full of distractions to let him sleep. Perhaps he could go out to the shore again, just to check, and sleep once he came back?...

He shook his head immediately; he'd most likely get mugged or something. He was a pretty shitty fighter without Venom, so the chances of getting out of any potential scuffle unscathed were pretty slim.

Meditation was right out because it was impossible to calm down when one was being eaten from the inside by guilt, worry, and some inexplicable longing they couldn't compare to anything they ever felt before. It was, Eddie mused, like having phantom pains after losing a limb… except the limb was his heart.

Some music, then! In the worst case, he could use radio static to fill the silence, even if just partially.

He turned on the radio.

 _Heaven's gates won't open up for me_ _  
_ _With these broken wings I'm fallin'_

_and all I see is you_

_These city walls ain't got no love for me_   
_I'm on the ledge of the eighteenth story_

_And, oh, I scream for you_

_(come please, I'm callin')_

_and all I need from you,_

_(hurry, I'm fallin', I'm fallin'...)_

Wow, thanks for nothing, Nickelback. Fuck you too.

He turned off the radio with a deep sigh that turned into a sob halfway through his throat.

The next day found him lying on a tear-soaked pillow, eyes red and puffy, and will to live pretty much nonexistent.

They sent him a job offer - an invite/plea for him to return to journalism. Perhaps it would be a good idea; a welcome distraction and a way to earn some money. Eddie wasn't sure, though; he could barely get out of bed nowadays, mostly to race to the beach and frantically look for his other half.  

Okay fine, he sometimes went to buy food too, just so Mrs Chen wouldn't be concerned by his lack of visits.

Anne had called while he was asleep. She left two messages asking how he was holding up and promised that she and Dan were there if he ever needed any help. He tried to smile at that. It was touching, really, that they gave enough shits about his disaster of an existence to offer him support. Eddie could recall that one time when Anne came home with a rain-soaked kitten in her arms, informing him that they were keeping it. Said kitten eventually grew up into the fattest, most spoiled piece of shit in America (surpassing even Anne's previous boss, which was saying a lot.)

Was that how they saw him? A shivering, helpless creature to be taken care of? To be pitied? He wanted to take them up on the offer, if he had to be honest; even false affection was better than none. Even the company of people who were basically strangers to him at this point was better than being alone.

On the other hand, he didn't want to intrude; didn't want to barge into their happy, perfect life like that one time at the restaurant when he and Venom were still fighting for control.

_Venom._

Eddie would be ready to give everything just to hear their stupid, annoying voice again.

Resigning himself to getting up (though he wasn't sure why he even bothered anymore,) he left the bed and showered. Then he half-heartedly ate breakfast (even though the clock read 3:52pm) and left the apartment. Might as well give the woods another comb through, just in case he missed something, even though he knew in the black hole that was his heart that he looked everywhere.

As he was crossing the Golden Gate bridge, Eddie stopped to admire the ocean for a brief moment. The water was so beautiful, glittering brightly in the rays of the setting sun. It looked almost black, like the odd substance Venom was made up of. Perhaps if he jumped right into it, they would find each other again.

The thought was certainly tempting. Nobody would miss him, nobody would care. Anne would be sad, maybe, but she had Dan, and she would move on just like she moved on after dumping him (quite rightly.) Mrs Chen would probably notice his absence, but wouldn't worry too much as long as she wouldn't know what happened. She had other customers, after all. His family? What family? He had nobody. He was unloved. He was nothing.

One jump.

One jump and he would be free.

 _No,_ Eddie turned back, hands clutching the railing. At least not yet.

Not until he was absolutely sure that Venom was dead.

He set out again, feet dragging with every step.

~~~

**Cold.**

 

**Weak.**

 

**Hungry.**

 

**Alone.**

 

**Need to bond.**

 

**Need to survive.**

 

**Need to survive to find Eddie.**

 

**Need to find Eddie.**

 

**Need Eddie.**

 

**Pain.**

 

**So much pain. Too much pain to bear.**

 

**Too cold to stay conscious.**

 

**Darkness like the void of space, endless maw opening to swallow them whole.**

~~~

It was dark out when he finally made it to the shore. The sky was dotted with stars although the moon was nowhere to be found; Eddie was glad that he brought a flashlight.

The usual gig, then: first comb the beach, then the treeline, and finally a quick venture into the woods. Then a parting gift consisting of a packet of Tater Tots and some chocolate left on a tree trunk roughly right between the water and the woods.

The beachcombing bore no results, while checking the woods only revealed that his previous offering was gone. Eddie didn't get his hopes up; the place was sometimes frequented by drunks, horny teenagers, and a combination of both. Luckily for him, this time there were no intruders.

Resigned, he made his way back to the beach after leaving out the food, half heartedly giving the sand one last look before he left.

Nothing, as usual.

Sighing wearily, he turned on his heel and was just about to head home when the beam of light fell on something.

It was a… puddle?

Okay, puddles weren't exactly uncommon near the water; it was probably a shallow pool or a bit of water that couldn't make it back to the ocean. Still, it looked just a little too dark to be…

Eddie's heart stopped.

“Venom,” he choked out.

He fell on his knees next to the pitiful thing, reaching out to cup it into his hands and praying to whoever lived Up There™ that Venom, his Venom wasn't as dead as they looked.

Because they looked awful.

First of all, there was barely enough of the symbiote to fit into Eddie's cupped hands. They looked even smaller than back at Dan’s clinic after the MRI. Second of all, they were freezing, much colder than even the waves lapping not so far away and almost as runny; Eddie was genuinely scared that, should they spill, they would just dissolve in the water.

“Hey, Venom, hey,” he choked out, cradling the mass close to his chest. “Wake up, man. It's me, Eddie.”

No response, not even an attempt at symbiosis.

Eddie didn't want to ponder what that meant, so he just raced back home as fast as his legs would allow him.

He left the door unlocked, not even caring if someone robbed him, so all it took was a bit of maneuvering with his elbow to get them inside and straight to the bedroom, where he gently deposited the symbiote onto the bed and rushed to the kitchen.

Okay, food. Something high in sugar and calories and ideally containing meat. Also, ideally, warm.

There was an old hot water bottle in one of the drawers (bought just in case the heating kicked the bucket), so Eddie set the water boiling and stuck a tower of chicken drumsticks, Tater Tots (his freezer was full of the stuff, don't judge) and some noodles into the microwave. He also reached into his stash of chocolate and took five bars. When the water was hot enough to go into the bottle and the microwave stopped beeping like the obnoxious little fuck it was, he prepared everything and carried it back to the bedroom.

Venom didn't seem to have moved, but that was okay, Eddie told himself. They were probably doing an alien equivalent of hibernating to save power. They were alive and probably weak as hell but definitely alive and he didn't want to think of the alternative so he lied down next to them and placed the food and the heating pad around them.

“Venom,” he cooed quietly, desperately trying to keep his voice calm. “Veeeenom. Wake up, mate, I brought you food. You must be freezing, too, so everything's heated up and I found this bottle thing and it's really good at warming things up. Here,” he broke one of the chocolate bars into little pieces and held one up. “Look, I have chocolate. It's good, full of this weird chemical thing you keep talking about. It'll get you right back on your feet.”

He couldn't stop talking. He knew that he would break down if he stopped.

“It's okay, I've got you,” he attempted to sort of, just, caress the mass next to him. “I've got you. I'm not going anywhere.”

And he didn't. He talked until his speech became slurred and words turned into half-delirious nonsense. He only stopped when sleep forcibly dragged him into nothingness.

And so, a new routine was established: Eddie woke up, reheated the food/threw it away to prepare something fresh, talked to Venom about absolutely nothing, told them that he was going to shower/buy food/prepare food/put on some music/etc and assured time and time again that he was not going anywhere and that he would return. He wasn't planning to leave them ever again.

Then he spent hours just lying on the bed, talking to an unresponsive pile of goo, always with his hand within reach in case they ever attempted to bond. He ignored calls, knocking, or increasingly concerned messages from Anne and Dan. They didn't matter. Nothing mattered aside from Venom.

His Venom.

Days passed, then turned into a week. Eddie's desperation grew. He barely slept, ate only so that Venom could have a healthy host to return to. His daily conversations began to end with sobbing more often than not.

“Please,” he begged, prayed, “please wake up. Bond with me. Come on. I'll keep you safe. I'll keep you alive. Please, let me help you. Let me have you back. Let me have _us_ back. Please. I don't know what to do without you. Please. Please. Just hang on. Just…

_Please don't leave me.”_

~~~

**Warmth.**

 

**Strange.**

 

**Softness. Like bedsheets.**

 

**The smell of food. Somewhere close.**

 

**There! Tiny pieces of meat. Still warm.**

 

**Confusion. Where did they come from?**

 

**Irrelevant. Eat. Consume to regain power.**

 

**Cannot consume. Need a host.**

 

**Chocolate?**

 

**Chocolate! Also broken into tiny pieces. Perfect to eat if only they were bonded.**

 

**The sound of breathing, so achingly familiar.**

 

**Search. Locate.**

 

**Find.**

 

**Relief so crushing that it brings physical pain.**

 

**Eddie.**

 

**Asleep.**

 

**Fingers within reach. Exposed skin. Symbiosis possible.**

 

**No. Too weak to sustain for long. Join for long enough to consume some food and commence tissue regeneration.**

 

**Tired.**

 

**But safe.**

 

**_With Eddie._ **

~~~

When Eddie woke up, he noticed that some of the chicken strips were missing. Five instead of eight. The chocolate was gone, too.

His heart leaped right up to his throat. “Venom! You're awake? Come on, dude, say something! Give me a sign! One tendril for yes, two for no or something.”

No response as usual, but there was a change, so there was hope; white hot and wonderful and feathers choking him as it beat its wings against the inside of his ribcage.

It felt beautiful.

And was it his imagination or was Venom just a teeny tiny bit more… solid than before? Like a veeeeeeery runny slime instead of just plain liquid?

He experimentally dipped his fingers into them. “Come on, join with me,” he urged. “You can do it! I know you can!”

Nope, still nothing.

But there was _something_ , and to Eddie, that was enough.

~~~

**Still hungry.**

 

**Still weak.**

 

**Too weak to attempt symbiosis.**

 

**But warm. An improvement.**

 

**Eddie keeps them warm and fed, talks to them and sleeps next to them.**

 

**Begs for symbiosis, promises comfort and safety.**

 

**Provides it without even knowing.**

 

**They regain more power with each day, joining for a short while when Eddie is asleep (less effort that way) to feed and regenerate before maintaining the connection takes too much energy.**

 

**Slowly, the energy regained begins to exceed the energy lost when left unbonded. They begin to grow.**

 

**_Eddie._ **

 

**Their Eddie.**

 

**Excitement.**

 

**Joy.**

 

**Anticipation.**

 

**Can't wait to join with you again, can't wait to become Venom again.**

 

**Can't wait.**

~~~

Venom seemed to grow with each passing day, becoming less runny and consuming more food (though Eddie wasn't sure how. Then again, the taste of meat lingering inside his mouth gave him some ideas.)

Still, no attempts at prolonged symbiosis were made. No contact, either, nor movements.

“Take all the time you need, buddy,” he said one day, snacking on a chocolate bar. He actually felt alive for a change, and thus decided to treat himself with something sugary. The radio was playing classical music in the background. “Hop on as soon as you're able to, okay? I know that I tried to get rid of you that one time,” he chuckled awkwardly, “but I don't want that anymore, okay? What I _do_ want, though, is for you to get well again, and for _you_ and _me_ to become a _we_ , got it?”

He didn't expect a response.

He got one anyway.

A tendril, short and thin as a pencil, rose out of the mass to rest against his hand.

_Holy shit._

If emotions could kill, relief would've eviscerated him on the spot.

He laughed for the first time in months, tears prickling at the inside of his eyelids as he lied down next to the symbiote.

“I've got you,” he repeated his promise just like he did every day, voice strangely choked up. “I've got you. You're safe now. I've got you.”

~~~

**_“What I do want, though, is for you to get well again, and for you and me to become a we, got it?”_ **

 

**Those were Eddie's exact words, were they not?**

 

**Even after everything, he wanted them back.**

 

**Now that they were able to remain conscious for extended periods of time, they could examine their memories from before the warmth and the food and Eddie.**

 

**No, not before Eddie.**

 

**He was there. Every day. Looking for them.**

 

**He was the one leaving out the food they consumed as a squirrel, rat, bird, raccoon.**

 

**He was looking for them all this time.**

 

**He found them. Took them in when it would've been easier to leave them to die. Took care of them. Provided food. Warmth.**

 

**…Love?**

~~~

One day, Eddie woke up to find both the symbiote and the food gone.

He sat up in the bed, looking around the room for any signs of them.

Upon finding nothing, he looked into himself.

_‘Venom? You there?’_

No response.

And then…

**“Eddie…”**

He gasped, hands flying up to his chest where he thought that he could feel some faint stirring, though he wasn't sure because his racing heart was throwing him off a little.

“Venom!” He cried out, voice just a little too shrill from joy to sound serious. “Venom, oh my god, you're okay. Sorry, I couldn't feel you for a sec there. How are you feeling?”

 **“Weak,”** came the response, **“but alive.”**

That was all that mattered.

Eddie laughed, hugging himself as tightly as possible. If he concentrated really hard, he could indeed feel the symbiote’s presence somewhere in his - their - body. At last. At long, excruciating last he wasn't alone.

He hoped that their mental link was able to convey at least some of the sheer fucking euphoria he was feeling. If Venom fed on positive chemicals, this was bound to give them at least a bit of a boost.

Even though he seemed to have eaten all the food left out on the bed, Eddie found himself absolutely ravenous, so he eagerly made his way to the kitchen to find some more fuel for his brainmate.

 **“Chocolate…”** came a weak request.

 _‘Roger that,’_ he saluted merrily as he dug into whatever remained of his stash. _‘Anything for you. Need anything else?’_

Three _Hershleys_ in, he heard a response.

**“Need you, Eddie. Only you.”**

Okay, his heart did something _very_ uncomfortable and probably physically impossible at that, but hey, the sentiment was very much mutual.

~~~

**Home.**

 

**No, not their planet. That stopped being home long ago.**

 

**Eddie.**

 

**Eddie was home.**

 

**The relief of finally being bonded to him was unlike anything they ever felt before. At least, before he realised their presence and their mental link was flooded with so much joy that it left them gasping (metaphorically.)**

 

**His concern was touching, his eagerness to provide more fuel for them was a relief, and the amount of chocolate in his possession was a bit of a surprise, although not an unwelcome one.**

 

**_‘Anything for you.’_ **

 

**That simple thought carried so much love, so much affection, so much warmth… Eddie was willing to give them anything, even though he was really the only thing they needed.**

 

**They were ready to give him anything too. As soon as they recovered, that was what they were going to do.**

~~~

After a few days of diligent feeding, Venom’s presence in their (not Eddie's, _his_ \- _their_. Finally, blessedly, _their_ ) mind was much more noticeable to the point of allowing them to exert limited control over their body.

For example, Eddie used his left hand to reach for a cup of coffee while his right one reached for another chocolate bar. They met in the middle, both equally surprised until Eddie set the coffee cup down and obediently consumed yet more chocolate. He had no idea how their teeth hadn't disintegrated yet.

 **“Fixing all damage, Eddie,”** Venom answered. **“Keeping us healthy.”**

Eddie raised an eyebrow at that, mildly concerned. Not that he didn't appreciate it, but...

 _‘Shouldn't you be more focused on fixing yourself?’_ he asked.

Venom shook their head. **“We are one,** ” they said. **“Fixing you means fixing me. Don't worry.”**

They were one. Finally. Eddie still couldn't get used to it, to not being alone and scared and so desperate for the symbiote to rejoin with him.

**“You were worried about me?”**

He sensed genuine shock behind the question, and scoffed. As if it wasn't obvious.

 **“No, it** **_is_ ** **obvious.”** Venom seemed to hesitate. **“But why? Why did you keep returning? Why did you take us back? Why did you…”** A series of chaotic images flashed through their mind: the beach, the food left on the trunk, the blurred path to the apartment, the food and the warmth, Eddie's sleeping face, his brows furrowed, _“What I do want, though, is for you to get well again, and for you and me to become a we, got it?”_

**“Why do you care?”**

Eddie sat down on their ratty couch, trying to process all the information.

“Because you're important to me,” he said after a moment of thought. Making the response a verbal one made it more official somehow. “I don't just need you… I want you.”

Wonder. Confusion. Joy. They were _wanted_!

_‘Of course you're wanted! Fuck, look through my memories and see for yourself how much it fucking sucked to be without you.’_

They did, and they did not like what they saw.

Edie felt them dig through their shared head until, to his horror, the memory of the Golden Gate bridge surfaced, along with shrill cries of outrage and sorrow and concern and despair and

**“DON'T YOU EVER DARE EVEN CONSIDER THAT SORT OF SHIT AGAIN.”**

It was less of a thought and more of a roar.

Their body shuddered as Venom’s form oozed out of them to stand opposite Eddie, eyes narrowed and numerous teeth bared in a snarl.

Eddie expected a scolding. He expected screams. He expected being called a pussy or something much worse. He expected violence.

What he didn't expect… was a hug.

What he didn't expect was a pair of strong, surprisingly warm arms wrapping around his body, promising safety and comfort and never having to be alone again.

The tears, however, he did expect, no matter the outcome. First one, then two, and before he knew it, he was clinging to Venom like his life depended on it and crying his eyes out.

 **"It's okay, Eddie,"** they muttered into his hair, **"I've got you."**

He was a bit… overwhelmed. The stress of the previous weeks suddenly caught up with him; the fear, the worry, the exhaustion, and the loneliness which, now that he thought about it, might have been magnified by his almost complete lack of contact with any living beings. Heck, he didn't remember the last time he touched anyone - humans needed physical contact to avoid going insane, and his longing for Venom didn't do him any favours either.

He had actually considered suicide. The thought hit him like a freight train. He, Eddie Brock, actually considered throwing himself off the Golden Gate bridge.

A wave of visceral fear washed through both of them.

“I could've…” he choked out, whole body trembling, “Oh god, what if I did? What if I jumped? You would've died without me. When I found you, you were… you… I thought…”

Too many emotions to convey verbally. He just hoped that Venom got the gist via their mental link.

They seemed to get it, as the embrace tightened noticeably. (Eddie was certain that he would fall apart if they let him go.)

 **“Never again,”** they growled, claws digging into his shoulder. **“Never again. We are one, Eddie. Nothing will ever change that. Nothing. Not ever.”** Their thoughts became frantic, disjointed. **“Need you. Want you. Love you. Love you too much to ever let you go. No more sadness. No more pain. Will not permit sadness. Will not permit separation. You are wanted, Eddie. Don't forget. Won't let you forget. Ever. Stay away from the bridge AWAY FROM THE BRIDGE never again don't ever dare panic fear you are everything never separate again never hurt again please Eddie you are everything I've ever longed for if you die I die can't live without you can't live without us we are one I won't ever let this happen again NEVER AGAIN NEVER AGAIN NEV-”**

Eddie stopped crying out of shock. So many thoughts, feelings, promises he never thought he would hear from anyone, words he didn't know how much he needed until they were uttered. Warmth. So much warmth pouring into his mind along with love and affection and…

_Love?_

Did he interpret Venom right? Their internal rant got so chaotic at one point that it became almost impossible to make out separate words and feelings.

**“You are not unloved, Eddie.”**

Oh fuck, so he _was_ right, Eddie thought as he tried to compose himself. So Venom loved him.

**“Yes.”**

Well, great! That certainly was a hell of a relief.

**“?”**

Because Eddie loved them too.

**“!”**

“I'm as surprised as you, buddy, believe me.”

Their shared brainscape was silent for quite a long moment while their heart kept doing something very weird and, while not necessarily painful, vaguely uncomfortable.

Eventually, they frowned.

 **“Wait, so if** **_you_ ** **love** **_me_ ** **and** **_I_ ** **love** **_you…_ ** **”** Venom seemed to have trouble wrapping their head around the concept.

 _‘Puts a whole new meaning to “love yourself”, eh?’_ Eddie tried to play it casual while frantically trying to figure out what he should actually say. Fuck, how did his confession to Anne go? It was so long ago, as if in another life. He couldn't remember. What did normal people do in such situations? Did he qualify as a normal person?

Venom pushed him away at an arm's length, white eyes regarding him thoughtfully before they shrugged, leaned forward, and unceremoniously shoved their tongue into his mouth.

_Holy. Fucking. Shit._

And he thought that the kiss in the woods was hot.

Well, perhaps it was because they were bonded, but the sensation was so overwhelming that it made his/their knees turn to jelly as it became difficult to differentiate between where one ended and the other began. It was like some sort of a mental feedback loop Eddie never wanted to get out of, especially when he kissed back and felt Venom’s satisfied, nearly ecstatic purr reverberate through their very bones.

Why did he want Anne back again?

_Wait, Anne who?_

**“You think too much, Eddie,”** a thought snuck into his half of their brain.

He smiled into the kiss, instantly forgetting to reply, to think, because he was too busy feeling more whole than he's been in months, perhaps years. Perhaps ever.

_‘I think that I love you more than I've ever loved anyone.’_

Much to his disappointment, they pulled away after what seemed like an eternity of bliss, leaving him flushed and gasping and grinning like he's never been happier.

**“Still thinking about the bridge?”**

The question made blood freeze in their veins. Eddie shook his head decidedly.

 _‘No more bridge thoughts,’_ he reaffirmed, and truly meant it. With Venom back, he was once again complete, both emotionally and as a part of the entity they made up together. He wasn't lonely anymore, and certainly not unloved. He used to think that he was nothing, but

**“You're our everything.”**

_‘Same here, buddy,’_ he chuckled, genuinely touched by the sentiment. To put it plainly, he didn't even need to think about the bridge, because he finally had something - some _one_ \- to live for.

Speaking of which…

_‘Hungry? We have two more bags of Tater Tots in the freezer.’_

Venom’s laughter washed over them in a wave of pleasant, warm tingles. **“You are perfect.”**

 _‘No,’_ Eddie thought as they made their way to the kitchen, _‘we are perfect.’_

~~~

_If my body is a temple, its halls are awash with light and laughter._

_You're back to where you belong, my love, and no sorrow shall grace our bones again._


End file.
